Little Bits of This and That
Grandma knew about scrimping and saving; she knew about hard times and poverty. Her trash pail didn’t need frequent dumping because she used and reused almost anything she got her hands on.
She saved all pieces of string, clean aluminum foil, glass jars, rags, and cut all buttons off of clothing headed for the rag barrel. The carrot parings, onion skins, and potato peels went into broths that would be strained and packed in the freezer as a soup base for a later date; a small chicken would yield 4 or 5 wonderful Grandma dinners because she not only knew how to stretch food, but she cooked like an angel.
Stale bread was turned into bread crumbs and croutons. Leftover anything, from rice to macaroni and cheese, from a lone chicken wing to ½ a pork chop went into a container in her freezer that would be pulled out on a cold day and turned into a soup that people would fight over.
People would ask for the recipe and she’d laugh: “Oh there’s no recipe, it’s just a month or two months’ worth of leftovers…”
When asked, “What’s in it” She’d reply: “Who knows, little bits of this and that.”
At the first hint of fall, I instantly think of Grandma’s “little bits of this and that” and how much I would love a bowl of that soup. I can still smell it bubbling on her old, but immaculate stove. I can see it being ladled into her ancient blue willow, soup bowls. I can see her tan hands bringing a bowl of soup to the table and placing it before me.
I can clearly remember looking into the soup bowl and thinking: What the hell did Grandma put in the soup this time?
Grandma knew about scrimping and saving; she knew about hard times and poverty. Her trash pail didn’t need frequent dumping because she used and reused almost anything she got her hands on.
She saved all pieces of string, clean aluminum foil, glass jars, rags, and cut all buttons off of clothing headed for the rag barrel. The carrot parings, onion skins, and potato peels went into broths that would be strained and packed in the freezer as a soup base for a later date; a small chicken would yield 4 or 5 wonderful Grandma dinners because she not only knew how to stretch food, but she cooked like an angel.
Stale bread was turned into bread crumbs and croutons. Leftover anything, from rice to macaroni and cheese, from a lone chicken wing to ½ a pork chop went into a container in her freezer that would be pulled out on a cold day and turned into a soup that people would fight over.
People would ask for the recipe and she’d laugh: “Oh there’s no recipe, it’s just a month or two months’ worth of leftovers…”
When asked, “What’s in it” She’d reply: “Who knows, little bits of this and that.”
At the first hint of fall, I instantly think of Grandma’s “little bits of this and that” and how much I would love a bowl of that soup. I can still smell it bubbling on her old, but immaculate stove. I can see it being ladled into her ancient blue willow, soup bowls. I can see her tan hands bringing a bowl of soup to the table and placing it before me.
I can clearly remember looking into the soup bowl and thinking: What the hell did Grandma put in the soup this time?
posted by mary bishop | 11:45 AM
18 Comments:
lovely, just lovely.
My grandma is the same... she even saves and re-uses tin-foil and wax paper... She grew up in the 20s and 30s.
I remember being a kid and spending time there for lunch - leftovers or stuff from the garden.
(Not that that was bad stuff to eat.)
And now that she is older, and my Grandfather is in a special care home, it is worse! I few months back, when I went to visit, the fridge was 89% leftovers.
The funny thing is that they scrimped and saved so much, that they have all this money now - put away - but the never use it! I am like... it is your money and your saved it all, USE IT. But I guess that was a lifestyle for so long that she will not splurge on stuff.
She gets real fussy when I am there, because I take her out to lunch and dinner - mostly because we are on the road visiting Grandpa or shopping (she will only let me take her to the discount places) or stuff like that.
We never had much money growing up - so I can understand that mentality. But I have been blessed with a great education and an above average paying job - money beyond she can comprehend. I have no issues with sharing it and making sure everyone in my family has what they need.
And then there are the times when I call her, which it is long distance, she will not let me talk more than 3 minutes because it would cost too much. I try to explain to her that I work for the wireless phone company and I am using a wireless phone to call her on, so it is free.
She just does not believe me.
(And she still thinks people also pay $1 a minute for airtime on a wireless phone - so that makes it worse!)
She makes me laugh.
My little ol’ grandma.
Strangely enough, my mother, an upper-middle class suburbanite, has the exact same mentality. Trying to find ANYTHING in her house is an ordeal because she never throws ANYTHING away. Everything can be reused. She's a firm believer in recycling and always has been. And who could forget leftover nights at our house. As long as it didn't have mold it could be eaten or turned into something new. My father's finally convinced her that it's time to get rid of some old things. The joke's on him. Now she's just resorting all the stuff she refuses to throw out - and after seeing what consignment shops pay for her authentic vintage clothes in perfect condition, she's given up on getting rid of those, too. She wants those old clothes appreciated.
Thanks Acumama! Hungry for some soup?
John Doe jr. thank you for stopping by! Your little old Grandma sounds a lot like Grandma from my post...these women really know/knew how to squeeze a penny as they say. And the whole phone thing is a riot because our Grandma was just like yours - thinking "long distance" phone calls were incredibly expensive -- she'd be hanging up barely after you said Hello, because she was worried about what it would cost.
Hey E! Re Leftovers: When in doubt, thow some tomato sauce on it, -- I think a lot of women think that way. Vintage clothing, well she wa smart to hold on to those - she can name her price. Shoes, bags too...
I too need a bowl MB. I am starving.
Sweet sweet grandmas...my gran liked to bake cakes and cookies and ohhh they were delicious!
Echrai, I would like to paw thru some of those vintage clothes!
That's a great image of your grandmother's cooking! It's interesting how grandmothers always seem to make things that under most circumstances we think would kill us. Case in point...fruitcake.
Jac - wish I could send one to you.
Weetzie - nothng better than a Grandma...
Owen..funny - many of the grandchildren learned to eat vegetables etc. that they would never have eaten if it hadn't been served by Grandma...who would say: There's not enough of this: this is for the adults but you could have a little taste...she'd sucker us in.
Fruitcake is so bad, no one could make me eat it!
This is such perfect timing. Grandma's soup is comfort food. Who couldn't use some grandma's soup right now? I made my mom's recipe for chicken and dumplings, hillbilly style -- with milk in the broth -- over the weekend. The weather's too hot for it, but my soul sure needed it. The last time I made that highly caloric stuff was over a year ago, when there was a fatal car accident in our family. Food is good.
I enjoyed reading about your grandma, John D, she reminds me of my mom, now 82.
That was beautiful, and made me very, very hungry.
Susie, don't you think all grandmas know how to make "soul" food? It's more than how it tastes, it's about food that can make you feel a hug.
Thanks Metro...I got hungry this morning writing about it..so I decided to make spaghetti sauce...a similar kind of dump and let cook comfort food.
Everyone needs comfort food from time to time...
Dont bother, instead send yourself to my blog once in a while.
;;))
I am hungry for some soup!
Or at least some good soup recipes......especially since my MIL passed away taking with her, the most amazing soup recipes I've ever had. The tomato with noodles, amazing matzo balls, all of the recipes that she carried in her head that were never recorded ~ sigh.
too cute! I love that line at the end. It really clinched the whole thing for me and switched the tone from nostaligic and sweet to irreverantly funny.
Nice job mb!
every time i come home now, it absolutely drives me crazy when there are leftovers in the fridge that i am totally willing to eat and someone has made a whole new meal.
nothing gets me more upset than realizing that something which used to be recognizable as one of my favorite foods is now moldy mushiness.
i wish i had the same creativity that grandma used to have.
jg: just throw it in a pot and cook it with broth...voila!
BTW: you could shove that stuff in the freezer before it gets moldy and decide later.
Just sayin'
Love ur post. Reminded me of my grandma (from my dad's side). My dad grew up really poor. His parents were both rubber tappers. everything was scarce. Water was taken from the well, food was mostly rice with soya sauce and dried fish. Once in a blue moon, they would have some chicken, which they reared themselves.
Nowadays my dad is pretty well to do and he can afford a lot of things. But my grandma still sticks to her old ways. Toothpaste, if used properly, can last up to 3 months. She would roll up the tube to squeeze out the paste. If that stopped working, she would cut open the tube and make sure the insides were cleaned off before throwing it away. Her house is full of bits and peices becoz she refuses to throw anything away.
She's funny that way. I bet she has loads of money stashed under her pillow, in her kitchen cabinet and under the floor boards of her house.:D
Hey friends...I do think Grandmas (and Grandpas) throughout the world are very similar in their ways.
Jac - I can barely write my own blog lately, but soon I should have more time..like October.
Acu - no one saved any of those marvelous recipes anywhere? That's a true shame...
JG - Throw all leftovers in the freezer and then dump them in a pan with canned stock...it can be mighty tasty!
LB - You got that last line... hahahahha
Along...thanks for telling me about your family - Grandma did the same thing with her toothpaste tube your grandma did!
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